Ashes of the Phoenix
by Wild Ceteruler
Summary: The tale of Rene 'Wren' Fenix, an upcoming duelist with a powerful secret - he is the bearer of an ancient power that must be protected at all costs! Now accepting/considering OCs!
1. Prologue

**Ashes of the Phoenix**

A Fanfiction by Wild Ceteruler

Disclaimer: All official _Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_ characters & cards are property of VIZ, Shonen Jump, and Konami. All created cards belong to their creators!

**Prologue**

The night was warm and humid in downtown Domino City. The air seemed to cling to one's skin and the moon blazed in the sky like some giant lidless eye. Rounding the corner, a red-headed boy stopped, pausing to survey his surroundings.

He was rather short, a hair above 5'8", and was slim and muscular. His hair, an aforementioned blazing red, fiery you could call it, was slightly messy in a windblown way, with shaggy bangs that hung to his eyebrows. His eyes, by contrast, were a startling blue that seemed to be alight with mischievousness. He was dressed in a red t-shirt, white cargo pants, and red sneakers. Around his neck was a necklace with feathers that resembled those of an eagle, but were golden in color. Curiously, though it was hard to notice, tiny red-and-gold feathers grew at the base of his scalp, hidden by the locks of his hair. A faint but pleasant odor of cinnamon seemed to hang around him. Despite the heat, a black leather jacket covered his entire outfit. A small golden backpack swung from one shoulder, a small reddish colored bird forming the zipper.

Looking at the strangely empty streets, he scratched his head. "Well, Wren old boy, you seem to have gotten yeself lost. Again. That mist was thicker than I thought." Performing a quick spin, he noticed a small corner store with the OPEN sign still lit. Crossing the street, he entered the store and walked up to the counter.

The man behind it, a salt-and-pepper haired man who appeared to be in his mid-60s, looked up as Wren approached. "Well what can I do for you, young man?" he said. Smiling, causing his eyes to light up, Wren replied "Nothing much, sir, just some directions to the Duel Academy tryouts."

Now it was the old man's turn to smile now. "Oh, an upcoming duelist, are you?" His smile turned slightly wistful, and he seemed to be looking at something far away. "I used to duel a bit, don't you know. Was pretty good too, though I say so myself. But that was before…" His face darkened as he spoke. Then he shook himself and smiled, and it was like a shadow rose from him.

"Aah, but that's a story for another time. Anyway, in answer to your question, you're not too far from the site of the tryouts. Just take a left at the next light, and the building is at the end of the cul-de-sac. You can't miss it; it's the only 5-story one on that street."

Turning to look out the shop window, Wren peered at the traffic light about 50 feet down the street from the store. "Much obliged, sir," Wren said, shaking the man's hand, who smiled, causing crinkles to appear at the corners of his mouth. "No problem, son. Anything I can get you before you go?"

Looking around the small shop, Wren noticed the bottled soda display. "I'm a bit parched; I wouldn't mind one of those," he said, pointing at the cherry-flavored one. "That'll be $6.99 then." Digging through his pockets, Wren produced a $20 bill. "Here ye go. Keep the change, mate."

His eyes widening, the man tried to return the money. "I can't take this, son. It's far too much." Smiling again, Wren pushed the money right back. "Nonsense, sir! It's $7 for the pop and $13 for the for the directions, so it comes out to an even $20. Keep it, sir, or I'll consider it a personal insult."

Grinning, the old-timer took the money, opening the register to place the money inside. Then his face grew dark once more as he stared past Wren out the shop window. Turning to follow his gaze, Wren's eyebrow arched as he observed 3 teens striding towards the store. They were dressed in black bomber jackets, black jeans, black boots, and even black bandanas, upon which were painted multiple skull-and-crossbones.

"Who are these lot?" Wren asked, keeping his eyes on the suspicious trio. "They're part of a gang called, wonder of wonders, the Skulls. They've been hanging around here lately, waiting for a chance to rob me, but there have always been too many people or cops around to do it. Unlike now…Well, I've been waiting for them, and I'm prepared."

Reaching behind him, the man grabbed for a large 12-gauge shotgun. "Wait a tic, sir," Wren said, grasping his arm. "Let me see what I can do about them before you bring guns into the picture." Frowning, the man tried to shake Wren off. "What do you think you can do, son? It's 3 of them and 1 of you."

Flicking his hair from his eyes, Wren winked, a glint in his cerulean orbs. "There are more ways to handle punks than with a gun, mate." The man scowled, but he loosened his grip on the shotgun. "Alright, you go out and talk to them, son, but know that I'll be right behind you with a fully loaded 12-gauge, ready to back you up." Winking at him once more, Wren removed his backpack and grabbed up his soda. "I'll be back before ye know it."

Exiting the shop, he opened the bottle and took a quick swallow. Lounging casually against the wall, he watched as the trio of thugs approached. "Hey kid," the frontmost teen said, sneering at him. "Unless you wanna get blood on those white pants of yours, I suggest you make like a tree and leaf." Snickering, his comrades strode up to take their places slightly behind him.

Taking another swig, Wren sneered back as he swallowed. "Well, I'm having a fun day. I get to meet a bunch of sissies playing at being pirates, who tie their mums' kerchiefs on their heads and use overworn clichéd threats. I'm positively pissin' me pants."

The punks gaped in amazement that this cheeky kid had insulted their boss like that. Then their underpowered brains realized that he was insulting them as well, and they bristled with anger. The three of them surrounded Wren, producing switchblades from with their jackets, and a chorus of *snick*s filled the air.

"What did you say, kid?" the leader asked, leaning forward. Wren leaned forward as well, whispering the words into the thug's ear. "Nothing your mum didn't hear last night." The thug lashed out sharply, catching Wren in the mouth and splitting his lip.

"Any other smart remarks you'd like to make, jerkwad?" he said, as he and his cronies raised their knives menacingly. "Just one…" Wren replied, taking a mouthful of his pop. As he looked down, his hair overshadowed his eyes, hiding the fact that he was carefully studying the stances and positions of the thugs. _'Quick like flame, calm like air'_ he thought.

Without warning, he moved like lightning. He spat his mouthful of pop into the leader's face, blinding him for an instant, then gave him a quick headbutt that broke his nose and put him down. In the same movement, he sloshed the remaining pop in the bottle into the face of the thug to his right and blocked a clumsy slash from the left one on his thick jacket. Pivoting on his left foot, he smashed the bottle in his right hand into the back of the left thug's head, dropping him like a stone, and drove his right foot into the solar plexus of the right thug, lifting him from his feet and sending him a full 6 feet down the street.

Dropping into a ready stance, he listened to the moans of the trio until he was satisfied that none of them would be getting up. "…never underestimate yer opponent," he finished, wiping the blood off his now uncut mouth. Turning to face the store, he saw that the old man had followed him to the entrance and was standing openmouthed at what he'd just seen.

"How in the heck did you do that, son?" he said slowly. Wren merely gave him a thumbs up, grinning. "I told ye a gun wasn't needed!" he yelled. The man merely stared at him in wonder, but then his face froze in horror. "Look out!" he cried, pointing behind Wren.

Spinning on his right foot, Wren saw that the leader had regained his feet and was now pointing a large silver pistol at him. Grinning through bloodstained teeth, he began to squeeze the trigger. At that moment, Wren began to move. The world seemed to slow around him as he did, becoming blurred and hazy.

The gun jerked once, then once again, both times slow enough that Wren could see the bullets coming at him. Dodging around the first, he somersaulted over the second, landing in a roll for a split-second. As soon as his feet were beneath him, he pushed off the ground with them, soaring at least 3 feet up and forward.

The thug was _slowly_ pointing the gun up at him, but Wren was too fast for that. Bringing his left fist down, he smashed it into the thug's jaw, fracturing it. Landing in a crouch, he spun on his right foot, sweeping the punk's legs from under him, then rose gracefully to his feet as the thug fell _slowly_ backward.

Using both hands, Wren shoved out with them, hitting the thug's ribs with enough power to crack 5 of them and send a ripple of force throughout his body. As Wren returned to normal speed, the thug flew 15 feet across the street, landed on the opposite sidewalk with a crunch, bounced once, and slid 3 more feet before he finally lay still.

All this took about 4 seconds to accomplish.

Not the slightest bit out off breath, Wren turned around in time to see the old man slide down the doorjamb, his face contorted in pain and his hand pressed to his side. "Hey!" Wren yelled, sprinting forward just in time to catch him. "What's wrong?"

Lifting his hand away, the man revealed that it was red with blood. "Second bullet…grazed me…" he gritted out. Lifting the side of his shirt, Wren saw that the bullet had actually gone straight through the old man's side, probably nicking an artery, judging from the amount of blood that was spurting from it.

Propping the man against the doorjamb, he ran back onto the street, searching until he found what he was looking for: A switchblade, abandoned by the thugs, who had apparently disappeared into the night. _'Bugger'_ he thought. _'Í wish it didn't have to come to this, but it has…'_

Grabbing it up, he returned to the old man, who was groaning in agony. "Hey, hey, hey! Sir, I need ye to focus right now! Don't close your eyes! Um…what's your name?" Glancing at him through pain-filled eyes, the man managed to gasp out "Otto…I'm Otto…"

Examining his side again, Wren replied "Ok Otto, I'm Wren. It's right nice to make your acquaintance, though I wish it had been under different circumstances. I'm going to take care of ye, Ok? Just don't panic! What I'm about to do will seem weird, but don't panic, got it?"

Otto nodded his assent, and Wren cut a patch from his shirt and stuffed it into his mouth. "Bite down on that," he advised. "This is gonna hurt…" Lifting the switchblade, he steadied himself, then sliced it across his palm. Crimson blood welled up from the laceration, bringing pain with it, but he paid the pain no mind. Instead, he clenched his hand into a fist and began to dribble the blood into the gunshot wound.

Otto threw his head back and groaned around the cloth, his teeth sinking into it as the wound began to smoke and burn. After about 7 seconds, Wren stopped and reexamined it. The edges had begun to bubble and smoke, and then, with a golden flash, the hole shrunk and sealed with no trace, save the blood around it and the slight pinkness of the new skin.

Checking the other side and finding the same result, he then checked his hand. The remaining blood in his palm swirled and spun, then was sucked back beneath his skin. With the same golden flash as before, his hand was whole and unmarked once more.

Helping the old man to his feet, Wren watched as he spit out the cloth, working his jaw. Feeling his side, his eyes widened as he felt no wound and no pain. Turning to Wren, he started to ask "How did you -" but Wren cut him off. "To be honest, Otto, I'm not really sure of that meself. I don't know where any of it, the speed, the strength, any of it comes from. Ye can't tell anyone about what you saw here tonight, though. If the bobbies question ye, just tell them I fought them off and left, OK?"

Otto considered it for a second, then nodded. Then he began to chuckle. "Heh, the way you took down those punks was amazing. I nearly missed it, you were so fast!" Grinning himself, Wren followed him back into the shop. "Really? I thought I was a bit slow, actually!"

Once inside, Otto handed him his backpack, which he shrugged back on. Shaking Wren's hand once more, he shook his head. "You're a strange young man, Wren, and I mean that as a compliment in every sense of the word. Good luck to you tomorrow. I hope that you make your way to Duel Academy and work hard there to make your parents proud of you, wherever they are."

Missing the spasm of pain that crossed Wren's face, Otto clapped him on the shoulder. "Can I offer you a place to stay for the night? This isn't the friendliest part of Domino, and the tryout building doesn't open till tomorrow." Shaking his head, Wren winked at him once more. "No worries, Otto, I'll be alright. All I need is a place to lay me head down and I'll be right as rain, though maybe you can help me out in another way." His face grew long as he spoke. "I'm headed to Duel Academy, but…I don't have a deck."

Behind the counter, Otto suddenly fell out comically. Dragging himself up using the counter for balance, he glared at Wren. "What? No deck? How do expect to obtain a ticket to the island when you won't even be able to pass the entrance duel?" Rubbing his head sheepishly, Wren looked at the floor as he shrugged. "I hadn't had a chance to before, and I guess I forgot all about it when I got here."

Grasping the counter to keep from falling out again, Otto looked at the sky, muttering to himself. "He moves like a bloody ninja, but he forgets the 2nd most important part of a duelist…" Wren swung his arms in embarrassment, then asked "Do you know of any card shops nearby where I can buy at least a starter deck?" Otto gazed at him shrewdly as he replied "Sure I do, but they're all on the other side of town, and I mean the _far_ side."

Wren's shoulders slumped in disappointment. Then he straightened, staring out the window at the fog that had begun to roll in again. "I guess I'll just have to keep a stiff upper lip and walk there. I can't go to the tryouts tomorrow with no deck, so there's not much else I can do."

A gleam entered Otto's eye as Wren turned to the door. _'I was right,'_ he thought. _'He is the one…'_ "However," he continued, causing Wren to stop and face him. "I do believe that I can still provide you with some cards…"

Turning, Otto rummaged in a cupboard behind the counter, moving various odds and ends out of the way, before spinning back around. In his hands were two objects, both of which flashed with a reddish hue. One was a red medium-sized box and the other was a duelist's belt with a red deck pouch on one side. Both the box and the pouch were emblazoned with a golden stylized phoenix, its wings curling around the sides of the two containers. A shiver ran down Wren's spine as he gazed at it.

Otto placed the two items on the counter, smiling at Wren's expression. "I've never even _considered_ selling these, much less show them to anyone. These were my cards back in the old days." He slid them towards Wren. "Now…they're yours."

Opening his mouth in protest, Wren was cut off as Otto raised his hand. "Nonsense, you've earned it for saving my life and my store. Besides," he said, grinning, "I can't let you walk into the tryouts and make a fool out of yourself."

Opening the box, he pulled out the large pile of cards and began to shuffle them at lightning speed. Wren whistled in admiration as the cards flew back and forth, left and right, up and down, even behind his back! With a flourish, Otto gathered them all back into his hand and replaced them in the box.

Lifting the belt, he slung it over to Wren, who caught it and buckled it on, then handed the weighty box to him. "Go triumph, Wren. Use that deck to win and advance, and when you're a big celebrity, come back and see old Otto."

Wren didn't know what to say, so he simply nodded in thanks. With a quick wave, he exited the shop and headed into the mist in the direction of the traffic light. Smiling, Otto shook his head as he watched him punch his fist at the sky. "If only your father could see you now…"

ooo

Walking down the street, Wren could barely contain his excitement. He had a deck at last. He performed a quick somersault off a nearby light pole and whooped. He could hardly wait to examine his new cards. Then a frown creased his brow, as a thought crossed his mind. _'I hope that these cards can work with _her_; not many cards _can_ properly.'_ As he thought, he felt the card-shaped case in his pocket once more. That case contained the most prized possession: a single card that held the key to the entire life.

Looking up, he noticed that he had reached the traffic light. Turning left, he walked until he reached the building that the tryouts would be held in. _'5 stories, just like Otto said'_ he thought. Looking around, he made sure he was alone, then he tensed his legs…and jumped!

The 3 foot jump he'd made earlier was nothing compared to this. He soared upwards, landing on the roof easily. Yawning, he stretched and surveyed the roof. It was sparse and bare, with not even stairs to the floor beneath to mar it. Removing his backpack, he laid it down like a pillow and stretched out with it under his head. For a second, he simply stared up at the stars, picking out constellations here and there.

Then he opened his new box and took out some of his new cards. _'I might as well study some of these before I turn in. I'll need a strategy before the tryouts tomorrow if I want to pass my entrance duel and get my ticket to Duelist Academy.'_ Flipping through the cards, he blinked as he read the titles and descriptions.

'_Want a bloody minute'_ he thought. _'I've never heard of these cards before…All of them seem to be related to…'_ His eyes widened, and he felt his pocket again. _'But if they are, how could Otto know?'_ Resolving to ask him about it tomorrow, he resumed studying his cards.

Yawning again, he reached for more cards when he felt something inside the box that he hadn't noticed before. Pulling it out, he gasped as he saw that it was the $20 bill he'd given to Otto! The cheeky old man had slipped it in among the cards during his shuffling routine.

Wren couldn't help but chuckle as he put the $20 in his pocket and pulled more cards from their box. "Cheeky old man…"he muttered to the cards and the stars.

-End-


	2. Chapter 1

Ashes of the Phoenix

A Fanfiction by Wild Ceteruler

Disclaimer: All official _Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_ characters & cards are property of VIZ, Shonen Jump, and Konami. All created cards belong to their creators!

Chapter 1

New character introduction

Bridget

_Name: Bridget Nogard_

_Age: 17_

_Hair: Black (with red highlights)_

_Eyes: Green _

_Clothes: Red tank-top, black jeans, black sneakers_

Kieran

_Name: Kieran Colraw_

_Age: 17_

_Hair: Black (with dark purple streaks)_

_Eyes: Violet_

_Clothes: Dark purple t-shirt, black jeans, silver sneakers_

_The woman walked through the field, the wind flowing playfully through her raven locks. A serene smile graced her beautiful face as she ran her fingers through the thigh-high grass. A faint smell of cinnamon surrounded her as she closed her eyes and raised her face to the warm sun. Turning, she looked directly at him and said _"Wake up, my son."

ooo

Wren sat up with a gasp, his dream still vivid in his mind. He remembered a woman walking in a field; a very beautiful woman…that had called him 'son'. "My…mother?" he whispered.

He sat there for a good 5 minutes mulling over his dream, until his watch began to beep. Glancing at it, he saw that it read 8:30. _I forget what time the tryouts start…better take another look… _

Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a much-folded piece of paper. It was a flyer he had picked up in the last town advertising the tryouts in Domino. Unfolding it, he began to scan it intently.

Come try out for Duel Academy!

We want you for Duel Academy! Come on down to Domino City for our Entrance Examination Test! Our test consists of a written exam and an examination duel, where applicants can pit both their minds and the decks against actual proctors from Duel Academy! The tryouts start on January 15th, in the large Duel Academy Tryouts building in West Domino. Application/Check In time is 9:00 Am –

Wren stopped reading at that point. Glancing at his watch, his eyes nearly bugged out of his head as he saw that in now read 8:30!

_Crap!_ He thought as he slung on his backpack and buckled on his duelist's belt. _I stayed up too late studying those cards! I've got a little less than 30 minutes to clean up and get down there for those tryouts!_

Peering over the back of the building roof, he saw a lake in the distance that was barely visible over the trees. Turning his gaze downwards, he saw many cars passing by. _No way I can jump down with all and sundry watching,_ he mused.

He decided to wait for a lull in traffic and then he would jump into the alley between this building and the next. The slight darkness coupled with the drivers' responsibility to pay attention to the road should allow him to descend unnoticed.

He waited 2 minutes…then 5 more. _Come on, come on…_ he thought frantically. At last a break appeared: two cars zoomed by, leaving the coming crowd about 20 feet behind. Taking his chance, Wren sped to the alley side of the roof and leapt into oblivion.

The 5 stories flew past in a rush, the bricks blurring by inches from his back. He landed in a whirl of old newspaper and scurrying rats, then turned and raced towards the street. The upcoming car was doing about 20 m.p.h, while he was punching about 30.

He zipped across the road and into the trees with about 4 seconds to spare, confident that the driver would see only a blur. Striking off towards the lake, Wren mentally cursed himself for oversleeping. He would have to hurry to make it back in time for the tryouts…

ooo

20 minutes later, Wren rounded the building, feeling refreshed and clean. Munching on an energy bar, he paused mid-chew as he noticed the surprisingly long line in front of the building. Teens of every ethnicity, color, and country shuffled slowly under the large plaque hanging over the wide doorway that read 'Duelist Academy Tryouts'.

Going to the end of the line, he reached into the deck box on the side of his duelist belt and pulled out the deck he had made the night before, with the exception of her, and reviewed the cards, going over the strategies he had come up with them.

"Hey, those are some nice cards, bro," a female voice said from behind him. Turning, he came face-to-face with a girl of about his age (17), with short black hair that was highlighted in red. She was only an inch or so shorter than him, and she had 4 small rings in her left ear. She wore dark eyeliner that brought out her green eyes, along with a red tank-top, black jeans, and red sneakers. A gray hoodie was tied around her waist, and she carried a small suitcase. She was popping a stick of gum _quite_ enthusiastically and was grinning at him.

"Thanks," Wren replied. "I just got 'em yesterday. I'm Wren, by the way." "Bridget," the girl said, extending her hand. As Wren took it, she drew his hand into a complicated series of twists, culminating in a fist bump that turned into an explosion.

Raising an eyebrow, Wren asked "Are ye from America? Ye have quite a distinctive accent." Blowing a bubble, Bridget sucked it back into her mouth and popped it before replying.

"Look who's talkin'! Anyway, yeah, I'm from America; Da Big Apple, to be precise. Where are _you_ from, England?"

Wren shook his head. "No, I was born in Ireland, but I was moved to London when I was 4. Guess that's where I get the Cockney portion of me accent. I've been jumpin' all around England for years, tho'. I'm an orphan, you see. Don't know how me parents died, just heard they disappeared one day. I was moved from orphanage to orphanage from age 4 to age 6, until me gran'da was found and declared me legal guardian. "

Bridget's face fell as she said "I'm sorry…I didn't mean to bring up bad memories." _I'm an orphan too, in a way,_ she wanted to say.

Wren smiled, causing his eyes to light up, and shrugged. "Nah, it's fine. Ye couldn't know about me long, sad life story, so it's not your fault. I've gotten over it anyway."

An awkward silence followed, which was broken when Bridget said "So about your cards…Where'd you get them?" Wren pointed in the general direction of Otto's store. "Oh, the owner of the corner store back there, Otto, his name was, he gave 'em to me."

Confusion clouded Bridget's face as she looked in the same direction. "Corner store? D'ya mean the one about 50 feet back from the traffic light?" Wren nodded.

"Aye, that's the one. Why do ye ask?" Bridget turned back to him with the same confusion on her face. "Wren, there's no store there. Mighta been once, but it's an abandoned, broken down building now."

Now Wren was the one to look confused. "Eh? That makes no sense! I was in there just last night. How else could I get these cards, from thin air?" Bridget opened her mouth to speak, but instead tapped Wren on the shoulder, pointing behind him. "I think it's your turn, bro."

Turning, Wren saw that it was indeed his turn to enter the building. "Name?" asked a very bored-looking proctor. "Wren Fenix," was the reply. Scanning the list, the proctor shook his head. "I don't have any _Wren_ Fenix on my applicant list here…; I have a _Rene_ Fenix, is that you?"

Titters rang out from the crowd behind him, causing Wren to turn and glare at several people. Even Bridget was struggling to keep from laughing, her face contorting madly as she sputtered around her gum.

Wren gave her an extra long stare until she settled down somewhat. "Kid," the proctor snapped, "I haven't got all day; are you or aren't you Rene Fenix?" Sighing, Wren nodded his affirmative and the proctor made a mark on his clipboard and handed Wren a name tag.

"You're in Group B, so put that on and go to the room marked 'Test Room B'. A proctor will give you a written exam that you must complete, and then your group will be taken upstairs to 'Dueling Area B' to complete your dueling exams. Got all that?"

"Aye," Wren said his ears red as the snickering continued behind him. Stepping past the proctor, he continued inside as the proctor checked Bridget in behind him. As he did he looked down to pin on the nametag he had been given. He could hardly believe his eyes at what he saw when he looked up.

The inside of the building was massive, much larger than it appeared from the outside. There were hundreds of people, both adults and teens, milling about, talking, trading cards, texting, and a variety of other activities. Along the edges of the giant room were multiple doors marked with letters, apparently leading to smaller rooms.

"I think I'm in the right place," Wren murmured to himself as he shouldered his pack and headed left.

ooo

"Name?" the proctor asked. "Bridget Nogard." "Nogard…ah, here you are. You're in Group B also, so put your name tag on and follow your friend there to it."

Grabbing up her suitcase, Bridget hurried inside and saw Wren turn left. Copying the move, she wove through the crowd on his trail and soon caught up to him. Chuckling at his embarrassment, she said "Sorry 'bout that, bro. No offense, but is your name really _Rene_?"

Sighing once more, he allowed a rye smile to cross his lips. "Aye, it is. I don't know why me parents gave it to me." Grinning for real this time, he quipped "Maybe they gave me a girlish name because I'm as pretty as one." As he spoke, he fluttered his eyelashes theatrically at her, causing her to nearly double over with laughter.

"O-or maybe it was because y-you weren't manly enough," she gasped out. His eyes widening in consternation, Wren mock-charged her with his fist held high, yelling "YE SHARP-TONGUED WENCH! I'LL GET YOU FOR THAT, SO I WILL! Dodging around him, Bridget dashed towards the door which a sign marked as 'Test Room B', with Wren hot on her heels.

As they reached the door, they managed to achieve some semblance of control before opening it and heading inside. A group of teens sat at small desks in a setup similar to that of an everyday classroom. At the front of the room stood a brunette woman who was dressed in the purple of a proctor and was tapping her foot impatiently.

The duo hurriedly took adjoining seats in an attempt to escape the proctor's wrath. But apparently, they weren't the objects of her impatience, for even though her eyes flicked in their direction as the two sat, they just as quickly returned to the door and her foot resumed its tapping.

Looking around him at the chatting teens, Wren noticed one dark-haired kid to his right who wasn't doing any talking at all. Instead, he was shuffling and reshuffling his deck, staring intensely at the cards through his thin glasses.

He was slightly shorter than Wren, like most kids were, and was dressed in black jeans and a dark purple T-shirt. Around his neck was a choker with a small silver Eye of Wdjat dangling from it, and there were dark purple streaks in his hair.

"Hullo there," Wren said. "I'm Wren." The boy simply grunted in reply without even looking up from his cards. "What's your name, mate?" Wren asked after an awkward pause.

Turning to observe Wren through one eye, the boy revealed that they were a startling shade of violet! Also, there was something about his features that reminded Wren of someone, but what it was, he couldn't say.

Studying him for a second, the boy spoke quietly before returning to his shuffling. "If you'd bothered to look at my nametag, you would realize that my name is Kieran." Almost as an afterthought, he added "Nice to meet you."

His voice was soft, with a slight accent reminiscent of Bridget's, but more cultivated, as if he had taken formal speaking classes. Glancing down, Wren saw that he did indeed have a nametag with "Kieran Colraw" written on it in purple ink.

"My 'pologies," Wren said. "I wasn't looking for a nametag. No offense." Kieran blinked, hiding his strange eyes for a second. "None taken, bro."

Nudging Bridget, Wren introduced the two. "Bridget, this is Kieran Colraw. Kieran, this is Bridget Nogard." Reaching across him to shake hands, the teens performed the exact same set of complicated twists flawlessly, before ending in the same explosion.

Smirking, Bridget sat back casually. "Brooklyn," she declared. "You?" "Queens," Kieran replied. Glancing up, Wren saw that a young girl had just entered carrying a cardboard box. Moving to the front of the room, she placed it on the proctor's desk with a mumbled apology. Shaking her head slightly, the proctor gestured to a projector next to a laptop in the corner, and the girl began to connect them.

Further talk was cut off as the proctor clapped her hands, accompanying the action with a "Listen up, people!" signaling that everyone was to be silent.

"Welcome, applicants. My name is Valerie Kwere, and I'm responsible for testing at Duel Academy. Get used to this face, because whenever you have a written exam, questionnaire, mid-terms, or any other type of written test, _I_ will be the one in charge of it. But enough talk, I'm sure you guys are anxious to get on with this. Sarah, pass out the tests please."

The young girl moved back to the box and opened it with a boxcutter. Reaching inside, she drew out not a stack of papers, but a stack of thin sheets of what looked like plastic, though if one looked hard enough, one would see minute circuitry running through them. A loop wire connected small styluses to each sheet.

Confusion rippled through the group as the girl passed out the odd objects until one boy at the front finally raised his hand. "Ms. Kwere, what _are_ these things?"

"Good question, Michael," Ms. Kwere replied, as Sarah returned to the box and withdrew pairs of 3-D glasses, which she began to pass out. "These are your tests!" Raising her hands to quell the fresh murmurs of confusion that spread through the kids, she smiled and explained her statement.

"These are the new versions of our written exams that we just brought out of development. They use a form of virtual technology developed by Maximillion Pegasus himself in an attempt to assuage cheating and insure a more streamlined testing process. Each tablet is keyed to a specific set of glasses and will not allow you to view the contents of another tablet, which prevents any 'peeking' from taking place."

Michael raised his hand again. "But how are we supposed to take tests with these things?" "The tablets have touch sensors embedded in them, allowing you to write comfortably with the attached styluses."

This time it was excitement that rippled through the crowd; everyone like touchscreens. Glancing at her watch, Ms. Kwere signaled to Sarah, who by this time had resumed her setup of the projector. Seemingly satisfied with her work, she turned on the projector, which began to display a set of numbers onto the large whiteboard behind her: 30:00.

Glancing over at Bridget, he saw that she had already put on her glasses, so he did the same. The room appeared darker through the lenses, so much so that it was harder for him to see anything…harder, but not impossible. Somehow he was able to make out the faces of the people around him. _This was probably designed to stop anyone from readin' answers in their lap_… he thought.

"You will have 30 minutes to answer 60 questions. There will be no talking during the test. If you have any problem during the test, raise your hand and I will come over to help you out, Ok? Good luck, guys!" Sarah pushed a button on the laptop, and the tablet in Wren's hands began to hum and glow.

Slowly, as his eyes adjusted to the sudden light through the dark glasses, he was able to make out the questions before him. Looking up at the whiteboard, he saw that the glasses rendered the displayed numbers in neon red.

"Your test begins…now!" At another press of a button, the numbers began to slowly spool backward. 30:00, 29:59, 29:58…

ooo

Question 1: True or False?

_KaibaCorp is the company responsible for the designing, manufacturing, and distribution of Duel Monster cards._

Wren snorted softly as he read the question. Any halfwit duelist knew that it was Maximillion Pegasus' company, Industrial Illusions, which was responsible for those things.

Question 2: Multiple Choice

_How many types of Duel Monsters cards are there?_

_A. 1_

_B. 2_

_C. 3_

Wren circled "C", chuckling slightly as he did so. Once again, any duelist worth his or her cards knew that there were only three types of Duel Monster cards: Spell, Traps, and Monsters. If this was all they had to offer, then this would be nothing but a piece of very tasty cake.

The questions continued, but most didn't offer much of a challenge, only a few requiring that he pause to consider an answer. He was asked about spell speeds, monster effects, card stats, archetypes, summoning conditions and so many others that they seemed to meld into a blur in his memory.

At one point, he glanced over at Bridget, who he shouldn't be able to see, and found her concentrating intensely on her own test, forming an occasional bubble with the gum she should have thrown away from the start of the class. The sight brought a smile to his face.

Then he turned his attention to Kieran, who seemed to be moving even faster than he was. The violet-eyed boy didn't seem to be doing anything _but_ writing. _I hope that speed comes from knowledge and not overconfidence,_ he thought. _But maybe I should just worry about me; I've already had to skip half-a-dozen questions. But honestly, how am I supposed to know the ATK/DEF of _Boar Soldier_?_

Refocusing on the tablet before him, he continued to answer question after question…

ooo

Wren blew a sigh of relief as he finally removed his glasses and stretched. He had finished the seemingly endless barrage of questions with about 1:00 left on the clock. Looking over at Bridget again, he saw her pull off her glasses and yawn. She noticed him looking and grinned, flashing him a quick thumbs-up, which he returned.

Turning to observe the dark-haired boy to his right, he wasn't surprised to see that he had already finished. Now he was organizing his cards under his desk, seemingly muttering to himself. Wren was just about to tap him on the shoulder and ask how he'd done when…

"And…stop! Glasses off everyone," Ms. Kwere said just as the timer reached 00:00 and flashed several times. Several kids groaned in disappointment, as they had still been writing, but no one made an open protest as Sarah came forward and began to collect the tablets.

"I think I did pretty good; how 'bout you two?" Bridget whispered as she leaned toward Wren, who shrugged as Kieran said, without looking up, "I answered every question correctly. It's not as if it was a challenge, right?" The other two teens sweatdropped and were about to answer when Ms. Kwere spoke again.

"All right, guys, now that we've gotten past the 'boring' part, we can get to the section of your examination that I'm confident most of you came here for: the Entrance Duel!" Mutters of excitement stirred through the teenagers as they stood and began to file out of the door and back into the massive main room.

Ms. Kwere led everyone to the far right side of the room, weaving gracefully through the teeming mass of people, and through a single door that led to…

…a large empty field with neatly trimmed grass and tables and chairs set up to accommodate a large group. "Find a seat, everyone. I'll be right back with your Duel Proctors, who will test your deck, your skill level, and…" her eyes twinkled as she spoke, "…Your strength of will." She re-entered the building and people broke off into small clusters to talk, pull out their cell phones for a quick text, or just wait for their upcoming duels.

Wren, Bridget, and Kieran took a seat together and pulled out their respective decks. Wren gazed once more at his new cards and thought back to the strange circumstances behind his acquisition of them.

_The store was abandoned according to Bridget, but I know I was there last night. I couldn't have just imagined the whole thing, could I?_ He glanced down at the red-and-gold pouch that housed the mysterious cards. _No,_ he thought firmly. _It had to be real, otherwise I wouldn't have these._

As these thoughts raced through his mind, Ms. Kwere exited the building once more, this time followed by 3 more people. One was an ashen-haired man with a perpetual smirk on his face; another was a brunette woman with a look of extreme boredom on her face. The last was an impeccably dressed man with an air of self-importance that was palpable even from the other side of the field.

"Listen up, applicants! This is Edmund Tilper, Regina Anura, and Leo DeGrance. They will be the ones you'll be dueling as a test of whether or not you are ready for Duel Academy. Unfortunately, some of the other proctors couldn't make it today, so these are all we've got for now. We can still test three applicants at a time, though, so who wants to go first?"

Silence greeted her question, apart from a few light coughs and some muttering. Ms. Kwere arched one fine eyebrow as she examined the group. "No one wants to go first?" she asked, stating the obvious. "If no one volunteers, I'll have to pick some people…"

Nudging Bridget and Kieran, Wren whispered "Might as well get it over with now, otherwise we'll be here all bloody day." Reaching into his pocket, Wren took out a card protector and released the encased card. Staring at it for a couple seconds, he slipped it into his deck. _Hope this works…_ he thought. Standing up, the trio strode confidently up to Ms. Kwere. "It looks like we'll be first," Wren quipped as he jerked a thumb over his shoulder at the other two.

Ms. Kwere wrote their names on her clipboard and gestured to the 3 Duel Proctors, who had moved further into the field. "Pick a proctor and get cracking, 'cause we don't have all day," she said, smiling. Glancing at the others, Wren grinned and said "You two take Anura and Tilper, and I'll take DeGrance. I like beating up smug people."

Bridget nearly swallowed her gum laughing at this, while Kieran merely smirked and said "So do I." Shrugging off his backpack, Wren unzipped it and took out his Duel Disk. Sliding it onto his left arm, he powered it up with a hum and slid his deck into the appropriate slot.

Some ways off in either direction, his friends had already made their own preparations and were facing down their opponents. Wren stared at his own opponent, who stared back.

No words were needed; the challenge was clear. 6 decks were shuffled, 6 pairs of eyes narrowed, and 6 pairs of lips uttered the same word:

"DUEL!"

-TBC-


	3. Chapter 2

Ashes of the Phoenix

A Fanfiction by Wild Ceteruler

Disclaimer: All official _Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_ characters & cards are property of VIZ, Shonen Jump, and Konami. All created cards belong to their creators!

Chapter 2

Bridget's eyes narrowed as her opponent, the proctor Regina Anura from Duel Academy, flipped a coin to determine the starting player, the small golden disk spinning upwards.

"Call it," she said, her boredom evident in her voice. Bridget growled slightly at the unspoken dismissal of her existence. '_I'll show her not to underestimate Bridget Nogard'!' _she thought fiercely.

"Tails!" she cried, as the bright ring reached its zenith and began to fall…

ooo

Kieran's opponent, Edmund Tilper, was preparing to flip his own coin when Kieran suddenly spoke up. "You can go first."

Shocked, the proctor sputtered a bit before drawing 5 cards. "But why would you just let me go first?" he asked. He couldn't miss the gleam that flashed across the boy's glasses as he drew his own quintet of cards. "Because I always go second," he replied flatly.

**Kieran: 8000**

**Edmund: 8000**

Unnerved but determined not to look a gift horse in the mouth, Edmund drew a sixth card and glanced at it before playing it. "I activate the Spell Card Painful Choice, allowing me to pick five cards from my Deck and show them to you, and then you select one for me to keep. All the others are sent to the Graveyard. I choose my Guardian Grarl, my Hyper Hammerhead, my Element Saurus, my Mad Swords Beast, and my Tyranno Infinity."

Staring at the selection before him, Kieran pondered for a mere 3 seconds before declaring "I choose Tyranno Infinity." Adding the chosen card to his hand, the proctor discarded the rest, chuckling as he did so. He wasn't the only one, as some of the more experienced members of the crowd watching scoffed and guffawed openly.

"Bad move, kid," Edmund sneered. "Now you're in for a world of hurt!" His words seemed to have no effect on the violet-eyed teen, who remained as impassive as ever as Edmund lifted a single card.

"I activate Soul Release, a Spell Card that allows me to remove up to five cards from either player's Graveyard from play. I choose to remove the 4 monsters in my Grave from play." As Edmund inserted the named card, a slim cerulean sylph with a rainbow of colors in her hair swooped from his Duel Disk and gestured at his Graveyard slot. Watery see-through images of the 4 dinosaurs wafted from the slot and faded from view, followed shortly by their caller, who vanished as Edmund pocketed the removed cards.

"Now I summon the card that will destroy you: the mighty Tyranno Infinity!" A massive Tyrannosaurus Rex burst from the ground, its gray-green hide somehow crackling with purple electrical energy, and roared its pride to the heavens **(4/?/0)**.

"That's a lot of fanfare for an unimpressive reptile," Kieran noted, cutting through the proctor's maniacal laughter. "Such a weak monster must have an effect that makes up for its shortcomings." Glaring at him for interrupting him mid-cackle, Edmund folded his arms huffily.

"Hmph; your observation is correct. Infinity gets 1000 ATK for every Dino removed from play, and I removed 4, so his points boost all the way to 4000!" His laughter resumed as the beast roared at its power increase **(? + 4000)**, the wind produced by this action causing Kieran's hair to wave wildly. "Is that all?" Kieran said quietly.

"Not by a longshot, kid!" Edmund snapped, breaking from his laughter to insert a card into his Disk. "Next I activate the Spell Card Terraforming, which allows me to search my Deck for a Field Spell and add it to my hand." Pulling his Deck from its slot, he fanned it out and scanned the revealed cards before selecting one and replacing the other cards, causing the Duel Disk to auto-shuffle them thoroughly. Tapping the extreme end of the Disk's blade, he placed the chosen card into the hidden compartment that was ejected and allowed it to retract.

"I play the Field Spell Jurassic World, which grants all of my Dinosaurs-Type monsters 300 ATK and DEF, protects them from Trap Cards during the Battle Phase, and allows me to choose their Battle Positions when they're attacked!"

The world blurred around the duelists for a minute as the Disk processed the images on the inserted card, and then in a burst of light, they were in a verdant forest lush with trees and vines. Large winged creatures soared overhead, massive sauropods lumbered past in the distance with earth-shaking strides, and on the horizon, a large volcano towered. It seemed to be dormant, but the smoke streaming from its top bore the promise of a terrible fury that would be deadly were it unleashed. The oft-named king of dinosaurs appeared to enjoy its surroundings, for it seemed to stand taller, if such a thing were possible **(4000 + 300/0 + 300)**.

Of the seated teens that were paying attention, the majority of them were shaking their heads and muttering amongst themselves. _'Oh it is soo over…' 'No way he can survive that for long…' 'I don't care what level of duelist you are, that's gotta be scary…"_

Ignoring them all, Kieran remained taciturn as Edmund grinned and placed yet another card onto his Disk. "I activate the effect of my Gilasaurus, allowing me to treat his Summon as a Special Summon, at the cost of allowing my opponent to Special Summon a monster from their Graveyard. But since this is the first turn, I don't have to worry about that happening, do I?"

A dull brown Velociraptor sprinted from the foliage with a reedy screech, its deadly razor-sharp fangs and claws on display **(3/1400/400)**. Though it was the size of a large Great Dane, it was easily dwarfed by the bulk of the bus-sized T-rex next to it, even though Jurassic World powered it up **(1400 + 300/400 + 300)**.

"Don't get used to my little friend here; he won't be staying long. I activate the magic of the Spell Card Big Evolution Pill, which, at the small price of a Dino-Type monster, allows me to Normal Summon or Set Dinosaurs of any level during your next three turns!" As he spoke, a small meteor smashed into the ground before the two reptiles and cracked open, revealing three red-and-white pills that glowed with a purple aura.

The massive reptile monarch took a step towards the pills, but the smaller Velociraptor was faster. It lunged forward and gobbled them up, then keeled over, clutching at its throat. It convulsed weakly for a few seconds, then lay still. Its corpse began to glow with the same purple aura that the pills had, and then it atomized upwards, covering Edmund's field in golden sparkles.

"I'll end my turn with a facedown," Edmund concluded, a smug smirk distorting his face as a brown-backed card appeared before him. As Kieran drew a sixth card, many of the same teens from before began to jeer and comment loudly. "You don't stand a chance, dude!" "Just give it up; Tilper hasn't been defeated in years!" "Kid's screwed…"

Once again ignoring the jibes, Kieran examined his hand before speaking in a flat monotone. "Well that was a decent opening…if you were dueling a 3rd grader. Maybe I made a mistake in my choice of opponent." Gasps rippled through the crowd and Edmund's jaw dropped at the bold comment.

"What did you just say to me, kid? You've got an awful big mouth for someone who has yet to make a move." Kieran shrugged, a hint of a smile creasing his lips for the first time in the duel. "Let me ask you something before I do make my move: are you sure that you're a proctor? Because that was not a move I would like to learn from a teacher. You overextended yourself, emptied your hand, and didn't use the slightest bit of strategy while doing it."

"If you were going to empty your hand, you should have set whatever Trap or Spell you have there first, used Painful Choice to dump the 3 unimportant Dinosaurs to the Graveyard, Special Summoned Gilasaurus, tributed it for Big Evolution Pill's effect, and _then_ used Soul Release; that way, you would have been able to summon a 4000 ATK Tyranno Infinity _and_ Special Summoned the 2500 ATK Guardian Grarl since it was the only card left in your hand."

Growling, Edmund took a step forward. "Grr…Y-you just shut your mouth, kid!" he blustered. "What do you know about dueling anyway?" "Obviously more than you do" Kieran retorted. Edmund clenched his fists in anger and was opening his mouth to say something he would probably regret when Kieran spoke again.

"But enough with your sub-par skills; I've still got a turn to use. First, I activate Pot of Greed and draw 2 cards." Doing so, he glanced at them briefly before continuing.

"Then I activate Graceful Charity, allowing me to draw 3 cards at the cost of discarding 2 from my hand afterwards." Drawing 3, he barely stopped to look at them before discarding 2 of them. After that, he snapped another card off his deck. "One of the cards I drew and subsequently discarded was Broww, Huntsman of Dark World, which grants me an extra card if he is discarded by one of my card effects," he explained.

"And now I have all the pieces instrumental to your defeat! I activate Tribute to the Doomed, discarding one card from my hand to destroy your one and only monster!" Edmund, along with those who were watching the duel, gasped aloud as Kieran discarded a single card, after which bandages erupted from the fertile dirt, ensnaring the lord of dinosaurs completely before dragging him beneath the earth.

Kieran gave a fiendish smirk at the look on Edmund's face as he raised another card. "I take it you've realized exactly what level of an idiot you are." Edmund scoffed, but he was sweating slightly. "Whatever, kid. You can't finish me this turn and you know it."

"Au contraire, Mr. Tilper, for I can and will finish you this turn. My next card is the Spell Monster Reborn, reviving the card I just discarded – the _Dark Magician Girl!_" Now every single person present looked up in surprise as a teenage girl appeared, dressed in a miniskirt, top, and hat and wielding a small staff that terminated in a tight curl. She resembled a famous monster used by an even more famous duelist, but her ensemble was a deep black that contrasted with her blonde hair and cold blue eyes **(5/2000/1700)**.

Edmund recoiled at the sight of the rare monster as she leveled her small staff at him. "What is _that_ thing? That is _not_ the Dark Magician Girl!" Kieran showed his teeth in a dark grin as he replied "I beg to differ, as does both of our Duel Disks. This _is_ the Dark Magician Girl, but she's a bit…darker." He chuckled at his own joke as he slotted a card into his Disk.

"Next I play Sage's Stone, a Spell Card that can only be played when I have a face-up Dark Magician Girl on my field." A rune-inscribed circle flashed into existence onto the ground beside the grim sorceress, a multicolored tear-shaped pebble floating within it. "This card allows me to call forth the apprentice's master from my hand or Deck, so tremble as the ultimate Spellcaster is revealed – the **_Dark Magician_**_!_"

Pointing at the stone, the adolescent adept mouthed a silent spell, and it shattered violently, releasing a searing amethyst light. When the light faded, a tall man stood – no, floated beside his apprentice… but not the figure that was expected.

His skin was a pale green, but unlike the monster made famous by Yugi Motou, his hair was a bleached white the color of bone. His amour-like robes were different as well: they were sleeker, a dead black like that of his apprentice but with silver trim here and there, with the shoulder-guards sweeping upwards into points rather than curving smoothly downwards. Most chilling of all was his face: devoid of all but cruel power, it caused Edmund to shiver as he turned his black eyes towards him **(7/2500/2100)**.

His mere presence seemed to cast a shadow upon the world, and many of the viewers rubbed their arms with imagined cold. Edmund gulped as he stared at the monster over an empty field. "I-impressive," he managed, "but still not enough to beat me this turn." _Especially with my facedown ready for you…_ he thought.

"Who says I'm finished?" Kieran laughed, holding up yet another card. "I activate Dark Magic Attack, a Spell Card with the same name as the Dark Magician's attack, and one with a powerful effect – the destruction of every Spell and Trap on your field!"

The ebon-cloaked magician raised his slim staff to the sky, and a swirling chaotic maelstrom tore through the surreal blue, causing a violent wind to kick up. Trees bowed and split from the powerful suction, and the various reptiles on the land and in the air fled in terror. Edmund bent over his Disk to protect his cards from the mighty pull of the vortex, glancing up through slitted eyes just in time to see the portal fold in on itself to form a perfect sphere above the staff of the wizard, who smashed the staff into the ground, sending the sphere hurtling towards him.

Edmund shielded his face and cried out as the orb impacted the center of his field, producing a blinding flash that rendered many senseless from its light. When sight and sound returned, the paradisiacal world had vanished, along with the facedown card and the golden sparkles from Big Evolution Pill's effect.

Kieran smirked once more. "Planning to use that Sakuretsu Armor on me, were you? Madness. Continuing with your destruction, I tribute my Dark Magician to Special Summon one of his more powerful forms, one with powers unlocked through endless study and dedication – the Dark Eradicator Warlock!"

The shadowy sorcerer raised his staff and lowered it thrice to the floor, somehow producing a hollow *thunk* at each strike. Darkness flared around him, lifting him higher into the air as the phantom image of a grimoire hovered behind him. He closed his eyes and spread his arms wide, which caused the pages of the spectral tome to start turning. As they flipped faster and faster, a remarkable change took place.

An ebony cape unfurled from beneath the shoulder-guards of the magician's armor, extending to nearly touch the floor even from where he hung suspended. The torso of the armor expanded, no longer clinging to the wizard's abdomen, and the silvery tracing realigned to outline the general shape of his body. The tip of his staff seemed to unravel and split, forming a thicker base beneath three claw-like crooks between which the violet gem they had once encased spun, glowing brightly. The neck guard of the armor extended as well, hiding the lower half of his face from view. His transformation complete, the wizard turned warlock descended to the ground, alighting gently as the darkness around him faded along with the ghostly spellbook **(7/2500/2100)**.

Despite the appearance of the new monster, Edmund asked what the majority of the crowd was thinking: "What was the point of that move? That monster has the same stats as the last one." Kieran sighed lightly as he shook his head pityingly. "For a teacher, you don't have a very good memory. Don't you remember my assessment of your Tyranno Infinity? Attack and Defense aren't everything in this game, and a person in your position should know that." "Shut up, kid!" came Edmund's harsh reply, his face livid. "I know more than you ever will about this game!"

Ignoring him, Kieran adjusted his glasses as he spoke. "Continuing with my turn, I should mention that Dark Magician Girl gains 300 ATK for every "Dark Magician" or "Magician of Black Chaos" in both Graveyards **(2000 + 300)**. Also, I finally use my Normal Summon an acolyte of the Dark Magician's order, the Skilled Dark Magician!"

Another swirling portal appeared beside the warlock, and a dark figure stepped out of it. In shape it resembled a monk, for it was dressed in a long dark robe with a large cowl that threw its upper face into deep shadow, but this person wore heavy shoulder-guards with a large black gem set into each one, upon which were etched silver symbols reminiscent of triangles. In its gloved right hand was a short staff with another black gem at its tip, complete with its own triangular symbol. Eerie silence was its only sound **(4/1900/1700)**.

"Still not enough…" Edmund muttered, causing Kieran to sigh again. "Have you been listening to anything I've said? Let me demonstrate my point by playing the Spell Card Toon Table of Contents, allowing me to search my Deck for another copy of said card and add it to my hand."

Removing his Deck, Kieran thumbed through it until he reached the green-bordered card he was looking for. "Since you know what I'm going to do, there's no point in me shuffling my Deck at this point, so I'll simply play this copy and search for the third copy, which I'll also play." After he completed this action, he replaced his Deck into its appropriate slot, triggering the auto-shuffle feature. "And now…it begins," Kieran said simply.

Edmund opened his mouth to speak, but he never finished his sentence, for a vicious jolt of violet lightning knocked him off his feet. His jaw locked and his muscles spasmed as the excruciating arc seemed to short-circuit his system one nerve at a time. After what seemed an eternity, the painful ordeal ended, allowing him to rise to his feet, smoking and panting in confusion.

**Kieran: 8000**

**Edmund: 5000**

"Wha-what happened?" he stuttered, his body tingling with residual electricity. Kieran raised his eyebrows in mock surprise. "You mean you didn't know? My Dark Eradicator Warlock, the monster that I so pointlessly summoned, has a unique ability – as long as he is present on the field, whenever a Spell Card is activated, you take 1000 damage for each." Glancing at the bulky mage confirmed the information given, as the tips of his staff were still sparking with the purple energy.

Edmund gaped as a collective gasp shuddered through the crowd. "It also gave my Skilled Dark Magician 3 Spell Counters," Kieran said, gesturing to his monster, which seemed to be glowing with a bright purple light. Upon closer inspection, it was revealed that the silvery triangular symbols on his shoulder-guards and staff were emitting the light, partially obscuring his form in its glare.

Lowering his head to look at Edmund over the top of his glasses, his strange violet eyes twin stars beneath his black bangs, Kieran spoke in an ominous yet taunting tone. "During my Main Phase, I can tribute my mage with 3 Spell Counters to Special Summon the cornerstone of the Dark Order – rise again, DARK MAGICIAN!"

The light surrounding the acolyte suddenly shifted in hue, becoming achromatic in color, and engulfed the mage with an apparent hunger. The darkness pulsed once, twice, thrice, and shattered, revealing another ebon-armored magician, a smirk dancing upon his pale face **(7/2500/2100)**.

"No…" Edmund whispered, as he realized that it was all over, and that it was he that had enabled it. It was Kieran's turn to laugh, a slow, dry chuckle that built up to an otherworldly howl as he screamed "Dark Mages, finish him with DARK TRIFECTA!"

The three magi lifted their staves and spoke as one, uttering but a single word: "Fatum!" The light surrounding their three staves intensified and once again blotted out the world in an amethyst flash. When it faded, Kieran was calmly heading back to his seat, leaving a dazed Edmund stretched out on the ground, smoke rising from his twitching body **(2300 + 2500 + 2500 = 7300)**.

**Kieran: 8000, Winner**

**Edmund: 0**

Those that had mocked him before now scrambled to get out of his way, whilst others muttered things like "Unreal…" "A one-turn-kill on the second turn of the duel…" "Not a scratch on him…"

Edmund was helped to his rather unsteady feet by Ms. Kwere, who attempted to brush him off until he shoved her away. "I don't need your help!" he growled, picking up his scattered cards in preparation to test another applicant. She slapped him hard across the cheek, sending a fresh wave of pain through his head, and strode off in a huff, leaving him dazed, frustrated, and the subject of many snickers and jeers. "Who's next?" he grunted.

ooo

As the excitement from the duel wore off and people turned their attentions to the other duels, Kieran sat back in his chair, sighing slightly. "That guy was really a proctor?" he muttered to himself. "I wonder how he got into Duel Academy with that level of skill?" Shrugging and letting out a small yawn, his eyes hooded as he turned his attention to Bridget's duel…

-TBC-

**Whew, finally got this chapter done! I hope it wasn't too wordy; I tried to pay close attention to detail, but I tend to overdo things sometimes! Anyway, R&R please!**

**Card of this chapter: Dark Magician**

**Facts of this chapter:**

**a. **My version of Jurassic World is the anime version from Yu-Gi-Oh! GX; I'm perfectly aware of the actual printed version's effect.

**b. **Kieran's Dark Magician Girl and Dark Magician are based off of the alternate artworks of those cards (I always did like the darker-colored Magicians better..)

**c. **"Fatum" is a Latin word that has several meanings, one of them being "Doom" (another is "Fate"…could that be a spoiler?)

**Next Chapter: Bridget's Duel!**


	4. Chapter 3

Ashes of the Phoenix

A Fanfiction by Wild Ceteruler

Disclaimer: All official _Yu-Gi-Oh! GX_ characters & cards are property of VIZ, Shonen Jump, and Konami. All created cards belong to their creators!

Chapter 3

The coin spun end over end, falling to strike the ground with a pure ringing chime. It bounced once, pirouetted on its edge…and landed with the image of the Millenium Puzzle face-up, representing tails!

**Bridget: 8000**

**Regina: 8000**

"Yeah, I go first!" Bridget cried, drawing 5 cards as her opponent bent to retrieve the gleaming gold circle.

"Whatever," Regina replied, drawing 5 cards as well.

Drawing a sixth card, Bridget gnawed on her gum in concentration as she examined her hand. _Heh, you guys showed up already? This is gonna be fuunn… _"Ok, I'm gonna set one monster and one card facedown, and that's it for this turn," she announced, the brown-backed cards appearing before her.

Drawing her sixth card, Regina glanced disinterestedly at it before calling out: "I'll start by activating the Field Spell Umiiruka, granting all WATER monsters 500 ATK at the cost of 400 DEF."

As with Kieran's duel, the world seemed to blur slightly around them, and then with the sound of rushing water, they were surrounded by cool ocean water, the sun blazing brightly above them. Beneath their feet, a once proud ship lay shattered, the stern and poop barely above the surface. Regina stood on one splintered half, while Bridget slowly found her balance on the other. Some ways away, a pod of dolphins leapt intermittently from the rippling waves only to crash back down with loud splashes, and in the distance a golden beach shone in the sun.

"I always loved the beach," Bridget quipped as Regina placed another card onto her Disk.

"Next I summon T.A.D.P.O.L.E. in Attack Mode." A small black tadpole with red-and-blue markings on its head that looked like demonic eyes slithered up from the depths to float just beneath the surface of the water **(1/0/0)**, Umiiruka making a feeble attempt to power it up **(0 + 500/0 – 400)**.

As Bridget quirked an eyebrow at the strange sight, Regina slotted a green-bordered card into her Disk's blade, boredom still masking her features. "Then I activate Big Wave Small Wave, which allows me destroy all of my face-up WATER monsters and Special Summon WATER monsters from my hand, up to the amount of monsters destroyed."

As she spoke, flames erupted from the wavetops, racing over the white crests as if they were covered in oil. Bridget covered her nose and mouth as the inferno surrounded her, the heat pressing in on her with brutal force. Just when she thought she could stand it no more, the flames guttered out as quickly as they had come.

_That was hot!_ she thought, as she checked herself for any fire damage. _Even with my increased heat resistance, I could barely breathe!_ Glancing up at Regina's field, she noted the new amphibian that floated there, its throat pulsing slowly in and out.

Dusky black in color with a pale underbelly, it seemed to be the adult form of the tiny creature that had preceded it. It was covered in red markings that while natural, looked arcanic in nature, the tiny demonic wings that stretched from its back appearing to testify to this **(3/1200/800)**. The marks glowed as Umiiruka empowered it **(1200 + 500/800 – 400)**.

"This is Beelze Frog," Regina explained noncommittally. "For every T.A.D.P.O.L.E. in my Graveyard he gains 300 ATK **(1700 + 300)**. Now attack her facedown, Beelze Frog."

The frog shot out its tongue to an incredible length, smashing it into the facedown card. As it shattered, a squirming purplish mass was briefly revealed before it imploded, releasing a cloud of purple spores that was caught by the stiff ocean breeze blowing from behind Bridget and swept up into Regina's face.

"Ack!" she choked, clutching at her throat as it suddenly flared with pain. "Wha-at?"

**Bridget: 8000**

**Regina: 7500**

"Heh," Bridget chuckled. "That was my Giant Germ **(1000/100)**, teach. When it's destroyed by battle, you lose 500 Lifepoints and I can Special Summon up to 2 more copies from my Deck." True to her word, 2 more of the wriggling amoebi appeared on her field, miniature cilia wriggling all around their edges **(1000/100 x2)**.

Recovering slightly from her shock, Regina coughed a few times before replying. "I set this card facedown and end my turn."

"Finally!" Bridget exclaimed as she drew, a smirk infused her face as she glanced at the new card. "I play Pot of Greed," she called. The grinning vessel appeared and laughed before shattering, after which she drew twice. "I always hated that animation," she said, frowning. "Anyway, next I take a line from Kieran and activate Tribute to the Doomed, discarding 1 card to destroy Beelze Frog!"

Bandages burst from the water in a spray of brine and dragged the hapless amphibian deep underwater as Bridget discarded a single card. Despite the loss of her monster, Regina's expression didn't change in the slightest.

"Now I tribute my two Germs to summon my mighty dragon: _Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" _As Bridget raised a card to the sky, the round viruses erupted in black flames as a stentorian roar echoed from afar. A rhythmic sound soon reached the ears of all present, and many looked around in confusion before they recognized it – wingbeats!

Regina stared upwards with an emotion finally gripping her face: fear. Those who followed her gaze saw what she saw and gasped in awe.

_**A sleek ebony dragon, dark as pitch, strong as steel, and a harbinger of potential descended from the heavens. It was all sharp angles and armor plating, a quartet of horns crowning its head and leading back to tooth-like spikes that curved their way down its back to the root of its spiny tail. Massive black wings carried it aloft, sweeping up and down endlessly as they bore its great weight. Dagger-sharp claws tipped its fore- and hind legs while wicked fangs gnashed in its maw, a burst of flame streaking past them to set alight the very air before it (7/2400/2000)**._

ooo

Kieran smirked as the spectators around him gaped and whispered and whipped out cell phones to take videos and photos, for the Red-Eyes Black Dragon, along with the equally famous Dark Magician, was one of the 3 faces of Duel Monsters. The third, and perhaps most famous, was secure in the clutches of one of the most powerful men in the world and had never been seen with anyone else for countless years. "Not bad…" he muttered, "…for a _girl_."

ooo

Bridget grinned widely at the look on Regina's face as she stared up at the hovering dragon. "Cool, huh? This dragon was the first monster I ever saw and the only monster I ever loved. It was so amazing when _he_ gave them to me… " She seemed to be looking at something far away as she spoke, a slight smile playing about her lips. Then she shook herself slightly and refocused on the Duel.

"But that's a story for another time; right now, I have a Duel to win!" Slipping a card into her Disk, she smirked as another roar sounded, causing Regina to break from her reverie and cast about wildly as to the origin of the noise.

"If you liked this dragon, you won't mind if I bring out her _sister_ to play, right?" A dark shape raced upward through the expanse of blue-green water between the two duelists. It grew larger and larger until it broke the surface with an almighty bellow, spraying droplets around as an identical black dragon appeared, beating its wings to gain altitude **(7/2400/2000)**.

"Those things are _female?_" Regina cried out, raising her voice for the first time in the Duel. Bridget smirked again. "I get that reaction a lot, believe it or not."

Frowning, Regina examined the second dragon intently as it seemed to greet its fellow dragon. "But how did you summon it? You didn't have any tributes, and I didn't notice the Monster Reborn ankh…"

"Oh _that_," Bridget replied airily. "I discarded my second Red-Eyes for Tribute to the Doomed's effect, and used a handy Spell Card called Silent Doom to revive her. Silent Doom allows me to Special Summon 1 Normal Monster in my Graveyard to my field in face-up Defense Position, but that monster can't attack as long as it's on the field."

Before Regina could let out a relieved sigh, Bridget continued. "But that doesn't mean she's not dangerous to you! I play the Spell Card Inferno Fire Blast, and select my Defense Position Red-Eyes." The dragon began to growl deep in her throat, and behind the forest of needle-like teeth, a purplish glow became visible, its color slowly intensifying…

"At the cost of not attacking with her this turn, which she couldn't do anyway, Inferno Fire Blast allows me to deal direct damage to you equal to her original attack, so kiss 2400 points goodbye! Red-Eyes Black Dragon, scorch her Lifepoints! _Kokuendan!_"

The chosen dragon opened her mouth wider and spat the purple-black flames collected in her throat at the surprised proctor, who wasn't fast enough to escape the wide expanse of fire!

**Bridget: 8000**

**Regina: 5100**

ooo

_That was a smart play on Bridget's part, _Kieran thought to himself. _By combining the Giant Germs, Tribute to the Doomed, Silent Doom, and Inferno Fire Blast, she was able to destroy her opponent's monster, quickly summon out two powerful Level 7 monsters, _and_ deal some good damage. I'm intrigued as to why she summoned out the second Red-Eyes right now if she didn't intend to attack with it, though. That dragon must serve a greater purpose than a simple target for a Spell Card…_

ooo

Regina stood slowly from her crouch, her body smoking from the heat of the powerful blast. She was dazed and a little unsure of what had happened, until she focused on the twin dragons circling over the girl's field. That blasted girl and her blasted dragons! She was humiliating, defeating, and infuriating her, and all the while she had that blasted grin plastered on her face!

"You okay, teach?" Bridget asked, blowing a bubble as she spoke. "You got hit kinda hard…" An audible growl emanated from the fuming proctor before she spoke through gritted teeth. "Just finish your turn so I can play, little girl."

"Well excuuusse me for caring about your wellbeing…" Bridget muttered. "And I'm far from done with my turn, teach, so let's get things moving! I'm gonna introduce you to the power of the Red-Eyes! First, I activate my facedown – the trap known as Metalmorph!"

As the card rose to a vertical position, a large crimson-eyed being made entirely of metal seemed to materialize straight out of it, its huge gauntlet-like wrists crossed before it. "After I activate this card, I can equip it to a face-up monster like my Defense position Red-Eyes." The figure liquefied and flowed around the dragon, shrouding it in silvery steel that appeared to fit…loosely **(2400 + 300/2000 + 300)**.

"Metalmorph raises the equipped monster's ATK/DEF by 300 points, and gives it the ability to gain half the ATK of its attack target, but I can't use that effect since she can't attack. Instead, I'm going to activate the effect of a monster in my Deck that can only be Special Summoned by tributing one of my Red-Eyes equipped with Metalmorph!"

The metal began to twist and tighten on the dragon, squeezing her body and causing her to flail and thrash, roaring out in pain. Bridget winced at the sound, but she didn't avert her eyes as the metal slowly hardened around the beast, and her struggling ceased. Bereft of movement, the now heavy creature crashed down to the water below and hung there, partially submerged.

On the main, she resembled her original shape, but she appeared to have _fused_ with the metallic entity that had absorbed her. Her entire body was now a dull gun-metal gray that gleamed dully in the sun's brilliant rays. Her torso had been extremely compressed by the metal, leaving it shockingly thin. Her chest and hips, however, were unchanged by the process, which accentuated the spikiness of the unaffected regions. Her claws, deadly as ever, were slightly blunted by the covering they had combined with and were thicker than before. Her eyes, once bright and terrifying, stared dully out, senseless to the world. Her massive jaws were frozen in a roar of rage, the once needlepoint fangs now capped by the steely material that her new body was composed of.

Regina began to let out a breath at the sight of the new monster, which while powerful-looking, did not appear capable of attack. _The breath caught in her throat as the creature's head swiveled to face her with a creaking sound, her eyes lighting up with a barely audible whine and powering up to a dark red. _ Steel-shod wings lifted and thrust her from the sea with a single downwards beat, the stroke causing a loud *boom* as her wingtips brushed the sound barrier. The ring of force created by this action forced the waves beneath her to bow and flatten as if acknowledging the sheer strength of the monster that had escaped them **(8/2800/2400)**.

A strangled gasp forced its way past Regina's lips as the dragoness roared, a scream of pure power that had a faintly metallic ring to it.

Bridget blew another bubble as she folded her arms. "Meet the cyber version of the Red-Eyes: the Red-Eyes Black _Metal_ Dragon! The process that created her changed her so much that she's not even a Dragon-Type anymore! Now she's a machine, a motor of destruction!"

"…"

"…"

Everyone present, including Kieran, sweatdropped at the inane declaration that had just come from the brunette's lips. "_Motor_…of…destruction…?" Regina repeated incredulously. Bridget glared at her, turning to encompass the entire room with the burning gaze.

"Well it's not an _engine_ of destruction, so what else am I supposed to call it?" she snapped. Some people facefaulted violently at the response, while others just facepalmed. Kieran preferred to simply cover his face with one hand, shaking his head in sympathy for the Red-Eyes duelist.

"Anywaayy," Bridget exclaimed, rolling her eyes, "If Black Metal Dragon rocked your world, then my last monster will set it on fire!" As she spoke, she held up the last card in her hand. "By sacrificing one face-up Red-Eyes Black Dragon I can Special Summon this monster straight from my hand!"

A dark cloudfront sped across the sky, swiftly covering the sun and blocking all below from its light as a strong wind began to blow. A jagged bolt of lightning forked from the satiny billows to the ocean, a mere herald for the coming storm. Black drops of water began to rain down on the sea, _causing small bursts of steam to erupt where they struck. The rain was burning._

The waves heaved and tossed as the wind picked up even more, blowing the blazing drops towards Regina, who raised her Disk to block the majority of them from hitting her face. The clouds finally swirled into a large whirlpool, revealing a dark pit at its center. Darkness seemed to lick at the edges of the vortex as if trying to escape. A winged shape began its slow descent from the portal, its wings perfectly still as it used the air currents generated by the storm for lift.

It was yet another dragon, but more streamlined than any of the others seen so far. Her arms had vanished, leaving her a biped. Her hide was, unsurprisingly, black, but not like any of the other Red-Eyes. This was the empty darkness of a black hole, the total absence of light. She appeared to exude darkness from her every pore as well as to absorb the external darkness surrounding her in a process that resembled _breathing. _Indeed, as she descended what little _light_ that existed over the now black sea seemed to be drawn to her to be absorbed by her black flesh, leaving it as dark as when she first appeared. Large jet stones adorned her tri-sectioned wings, while smaller ones rested on her thighs, breast, and forehead. Her spines were reduced in size, with the exception of one massive spike that jutted from the nape of her long neck, accompanied by two others where her shoulders would be. Her jaws cracked in a hideous and menacing smile. Her eyes, the darkest part of her, seemed to stare into Regina's very soul. Her hiss was like thousands of knives being scraped across one another. She was both beautiful and terrible in one. All in all, she gave off an aura of danger and power that was deadly in its magnitude.

Suddenly, a pillar of bright fire roared from the heavens, engulfing her as it rushed down to slam into the ocean and light the area for miles around. A cloud of steam sublimated upwards from the spot, as water instantly evaporated from the intense heat. When the crackling inferno disappeared, the world was left dark and quiet, save for the rushing of the waves. The darkness was so absolute that one's hand was not easily visible even before one's face, and the dragon was nowhere in sight.

_Without warning, a pair of bright orange-red eyes snapped open in the void. Two wings banished the vapor with a single stroke, revealing the umbral dragon soaring unharmed. _Her black gems and eyes had absorbed the incredible warmth and were now irradiating it as an orange-red gloss. Her skin had cracked and split from the scorching flames and her veins were exposed to the air, their calefaction interpreted as orange-red color that contrasted sharply with her skin. She hissed once more, causing her blazing eyes to flare and purplish-black smoke to waft from the corners of her jaws **(9/2400/2000)**.

"This is Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon," Bridget said softly. "This is my strongest monster, the mother of all Red-Eyes, and one with a terrifyingly powerful ability that will help me win this Duel." As she spoke, the darkness faded slightly, but did not disappear completely, the darkest dragon of them all still exuding much of it.

When Regina attempted to speak, the words simply would not come. She had seen many powerful monsters in her career, but she had never had the opportunity to face a Red-Eyes, much less any of its other forms. Now she was wishing that she hadn't gotten out of bed this morning. The intimidating being before her was for some reason one of the most terrifying creatures she had ever met in a Duel. After she remembered to breathe, she noticed the monster's projected stats and gave a nervous chuckle. "Whew…only 2400… I was worried for a moment there. I thought that it would be something like…" She trailed off as she noticed the ATK of the dragoness climbing, her gems, eyes, and veins glowing brighter as indicators of the increase **(2400 + 600/2000)**. "What the…? Why did its ATK rise?"

"Her ATK rose through her special effect," Bridget replied, stressing the "her" at the start of the sentence. "For every Dragon in my Graveyard, she gains 300 ATK points! Right now, she's as strong as one of the most powerful dragons in the game and can deal you the same amount of damage! But I'll let her relative deal you the first blow. Black Metal Dragon, attack with _Sonic Shockwave_!"

The steely dragon flapped her metallic wings and swooped upwards. At the pinnacle of her climb, she paused and pulled her wings back till they touched, then brought them together with blinding speed. The resulting sonic boom disturbed the water as it traveled towards the proctor, white vapor highlighting its path. Fumbling with her Disk, Regina could not activate her facedown in time to repel the forceful wall of air and was knocked backwards off her feet onto the wooden deck that splintered around her as she fell.

**Bridget: 8000**

**Regina: 2300**

"Now finish her Darkness Dragon, with _Miasmic Hellfire_!" Bridget's ultimate monster arched her neck and inhaled for a long second, then it blew out a stream of purplish-black smog that surrounded the kneeling proctor. "What -" she managed before some hidden mechanism in the dragon's throat sparked, igniting the mist and searing Regina's eyes and lungs with painful heat! The heat and water met and reacted violently, throwing up another tremendous cloud of steam that briefly obscured the proctor's field from view.

"I won!" Bridget screamed, closing her eyes and throwing her Disk-laden arm to the sky in victory, reveling in the feeling of success…until the shocked cries of the spectators behind her alerted her that something was wrong. As she opened her eyes, the haze blew away …

…To reveal an emerald forcefield that extended from Regina's Duel Disk and completely protected her from the flaming torrent, which atomized into golden sparkles as soon as it touched the glowing barrier.

**Bridget: 8000**

**Regina: 5300**

"…"

"That's right, girly," Regina panted out as Bridget gaped in surprise. "Draining Shield, a useful card that negates your dragon's attack and adds its ATK points to my Lifepoints, which in this case totally reversed the attack damage your other monster did to me."

Bridget was speechless as she realized that not only was her opponent _not _defeated, she had totally emptied her hand _trying_ to finish her. "End turn," she said, her declaration little more than a whisper.

Regina smirked as she drew, her confidence restored from the thwarting of her opponent's victory. Glancing at the new card, she smiled. "I hope you weren't thinking of finishing me this turn, girly, 'cause if you were, this card has bought me some time! I activate Nightmare's Steelcage, freezing your monsters in place and preventing both of us from attacking for 2 turns!" A massive spiked steel cage slammed into the ocean over the 2 dragons, hindering their movements. "I end my turn," she said smugly.

Bridget growled aloud as she drew. _Crap! I was so close to winning! These swords will give teach a chance to replenish her hand and maybe find a way to destroy my monsters, but right now, there's nothing I can do about them. _Examining her hand, which consisted of the card she had just drawn, she blew another bubble as she considered that card's use. _This card may come in handy if she tries to destroy one of my monsters…_"I'll just set this card and end my turn," she said, the cage imprisoning her monsters appearing to rust slightly in the seawater.

Regina smirked maliciously as she snatched a new card off her deck. "Not much you can do, is there? I activate Graceful Charity letting me draw 3 cards and discard 2 afterwards." A green-skinned angel descended beside the proctor, bringing more light to their grey surroundings. She lifted her left hand and pointed at Regina's deck, causing 3 cards to mystically rise from it and float before her. Pondering over them for a minute, the proctor finally picked one, and with a wave of her hand, sent the other two to the right hand of the angel, who dropped them into the Graveyard slot before returning to the heavens.

"Remember this card, girly," Regina chuckled as she held it up. "It'll guarantee my victory in the next few turns, so prepare yourself…to lose!"

Bridget snarled as she practically ripped her next card from the Deck. "That's what you think, teach. The power of the Red-Eyes is the potential that they bring to their duelists, so no matter what, I'm gonna win this Duel." A smile of surprise lit up her face as she looked at the new card. "Well whadda you know about that? I activate my own Graceful Charity!" The same green-skinned angel floated down to stand in front of Bridget and repeated the same process she had performed with Regina, all the while casting nervous glances at the imprisoned Darkness Dragon, who glared back at her. After Bridget selected her card, she hurriedly slid the discarded cards into the Graveyard before flapping upwards with much haste. "Those two have never gotten along," Bridget sighed as Darkness Dragon let out a growling chuckle, earning her a glare from her duelist. "Anyway, there's nothing else I can do this turn, so you go." As she finished speaking, the now-rusted cage shrieked and groaned as it broke apart to splash into the waters below.

Regina sneered she drew. "A whole turn to use and that's all? Let me show me how real duelists use a turn! I activate Monster Reborn and revive my Poison Draw Frog that I discarded through Graceful Charity's effect in Defense Mode." A gleaming ankh flashed briefly on the waves before a tiny orange wart-covered frog swam up from the deep and floated just beneath the waves, croaking pitifully** (2/100/100)**, Umiiruka invigorating it somewhat **(100 + 500/100-400)**. "Then I sacrifice it for my Des Frog in Attack Mode!" A larger frog wriggled up through the water and used the smaller frog as a foothold to hop onto the stern before Regina. It was a plain uninteresting green, but it was a surrounded by a blue-white aura that radiated malevolence that was tangible to all who watched **(5/1900/0)**, the sea spray that washed over it intensifying the aura **(1900 + 500/0-400)**.

"My Des Frog has an effect, but we'll get to that in a second," Regina continued. "First my Poison Draw Frog's effect activates: when it's sent to the Graveyard from the field while face-up, except when it's flipped face-up and destroyed through battle, I get one card." The sinking frog lashed out its tongue and snagged a card from the proctor's Deck. Tossing it to her, it gave an underwater croak before it disappeared completely.

Examining the card, she raised an eyebrow before returning her attention to the field. "Now for my Des Frog's effect: when it's Tribute Summoned successfully, I can call out as many of its siblings as I have T.A.D.P.O.L.E.(s) in my Graveyard from my hand or Deck, so I'll bring out 2 more!" She grinned as she pulled two cards from her Deck and slapped them onto her Disk, causing 2 frogs identical to the first to climb up onto the deck before her **(5/1900/0)x2**, Umiiruka empowering them as well **(1900 + 500/0-400)x2**.

"Wait a minute!" Bridget protested. "You only had one T.A.D.P.O.L.E. in the Graveyard, the one you sent there with Big Wave Small Wave!" Regina sighed in consternation as she spoke. "That's true, but discarded 2 cards for Graceful Charity's effect. One was Poison Draw Frog, and the other was…" She trailed off as Bridget finished the sentence with a groan: "…a T.A.D.P.O.L.E…."

Shaking her head, Bridget waved at Regina to continue with her turn, who smirked spitefully as she did so. "Remember this card, girly? This one card that I said would help me win this Duel? Well here it is! I activate the Spell Card Des Croaking, which I can only activate with 3 face-up Des Frogs on my field. Guess what? It lets me destroy every single card on your field!"

Bridget gasped as the trio of frogs opened their mouths in tandem and croaked a perfect 'C' note. The note increased in volume until, to her surprise, a soundwave became visible as it barreled towards her dragons and her facedown. Moving quickly, she pushed a button on her Disk.

"I activate my Trap - Interdimensional Matter Transporter!" A curved gleaming techno-organic ship with red gems scattered here and there zoomed out of space and hovered over her field. "This card allows me to remove one of my face-up monsters from play until the End Phase!" The ship released a purple light that reduced Darkness Dragon to its component atoms before sucking the particles aboard. Its job complete, the ship streaked off into space a mere instant before the rippling air broke over Black Metal Dragon, punching multiple indentations into its steel skin and shattering it in a spray of steel splinters that speared the deck around Bridget, who covered her face in protection.

"Darn, I missed one…" Regina quipped, staring at Bridget over the girl's totally empty field. "Oh well, 1 out of 2 isn't too bad I suppose. Now all that's left to do is to swat the flies. Des Frogs, attack her directly! _Chordatic Cacophany_!" Once again, all three frogs exposed the pink hue of their mouths as they uttered another ear-piercing cry that disturbed the water in its path, eating up the distance between the two duelists in a matter of seconds.

_Okay, I've just gotta brace myself for this…_ Bridget thought just before the wall of air lifted her from her feet in its brutal grasp and threw her backwards across the deck, wooden boards tearing up and flying alongside her as she went **(2400 + 2400 + 2400 = 7200)**.

Bridget: 800

Regina: 5300

ooo

Even Kieran flinched as the sea exploded around the impact site and Bridget was lost to view. All around him, applicants expressed their shock at the powerful hit, a few "It's over"(s) and "Fun while it lasted"(s) ringing out here and there, with even the unidentified and undetected applicant from before chiming in with another "Kid's screwed…", causing many to search as to his or her location.

_Anura's Deck takes a while to build up momentum, _Kieran thought,_ but when it does, the results are devastating. If Anura had had Solidarity, United We Stand, or a similar card to power up even one of her frogs, this Duel would be over. Bridget is fortunate that she was able to save her Darkness Dragon; otherwise she would be forced into topdecking at this point. As it is, Darkness Dragon is too strong for any of the Des Frogs to defeat, but it's only a matter of time before Anura pulls out a stronger monster that will be empowered by Umiiruka and will destroy it…_

ooo

Bridget struggled to her feet, trying to ignore the many jolts of discomfort coursing through her limbs and focus on how exactly she was going to possibly win this Duel. _I thought this was gonna be a breeze, but it looks like I was wrong…_

"Hahaha, did you like that girly?" Regina crowed. "Bet you'll never look at a frog the same way again!"

Grinding her teeth, Bridget clenched her fists and tried to concentrate on counting little Scapegoat sheep, something she did whenever she was extremely angry. _1 sheep, 2 sheep, 3 sheep…_

"Aww, what's the matter girly? Afraid? I tell ya, when you pulled out those Red-Eyes, I was scared for my life. I really thought that you were going to be a challenge; that you might have what it takes to beat me. Guess you were wrong; Power triumphs over Potential…

Bridget's eyes widened, the words echoing in her mind and her head dropping as she remembered a similar phrase spoken to her in her past…

_-Flashback-_

_The boy stood over her crumpled form, his long coat flapping in the dying winds generated by their now finished duel. "Hmph…" he scoffed. "You really thought you had what it takes to beat me?" _

_He squatted, his tall frame filling the entirety of her vision, a cruel smirk hovering on his lips. He brushed a few stray curls from her tear-stained cheek…then wrenched her head backward in a vicious grip as his fingers twined in her hair. "Now you listen to me and listen well..." he gritted out, bringing his head down towards her ear. _

"_Father is dead…Mother is dead…_**I**_ am the leader now. You do what I tell you, when I tell you, no questions asked, understand?" An imperceptible nod met his question, and he released her, straightening. _

"_Remember this…" he said, turning away. "You're not Yugi Motou, and you're not _**him**. _In my world…" the corner of his mouth twisted into that same cruel smirk: "Power triumphs over Potential every time. Now get up…Sis…"_

_-End Flashback-_

Straightening, Bridget shook her head, trying to rid herself of the images flashing through it. _That's the past…_she thought. _This is now. I need to move on and win this if I want to prove my strength._ "You say I'm not strong?" she said out loud. "Finish your turn and I'll show you my strength. I came here to go to Duel Academy, and that's what I intend to do."

Shaken slightly, Regina scanned her remaining cards before setting one facedown. "I end my turn," she declared, the words barely out of her mouth before the curved ship returned from outer space and replaced a very pissed-off looking Darkness Dragon on Bridget's field.

"Draw," Bridget exclaimed, the action sending a pulse of energy out that rippled the water around her section of the ship. Her eyebrows met as she glared at the new card before a nasty smile lit up her face. She slipped it into her Disk, and a glow illuminated the waters below her platform. "I play Monster Reborn, bringing back one of my Red-Eyes!" The snarling purplish-black dragon burst from the sea behind Bridget, flapping upwards to join her mother **(7/2400/2000)**, the darkness around her clearing slightly **(3000 – 300)**.

"You may wonder why I would make Darkness Dragon weaker, but the truth is, I'm about to make her stronger! I activate the Spell Card known as Flying Dragon Whirl." As she spoke, a violent wind began to blow, causing her hair to stream out behind her. "This rare card lets me select one monster on my field and send up to 4 Dragons from my Deck to my Graveyard to beef that monster up by 300 points for each!" Pulling out her Deck, she fanned it out and quickly selected 4 cards, which she placed into the Graveyard slot before replacing the other cards and letting the Disk shuffle them thoroughly. "I choose my Red-Eyes as the target for this Spell, so she gains 1200 ATK **(2400 + 1200)**."

"And it gets worse," Bridget continued as the darkness surrounding the other dragon deepened in color while her eyes, gems and veins brightened **(2700 + 1200)**. Regina licked her lips nervously, her joviality forgotten in the face of the angry creature. "Through her own effect, Darkness Dragon gains the same 1200 points added to her score!"

_Brook was right…_Regina thought ruefully. _I really should have upgraded my Deck with some of the newer Frogs…_

"Now they're both strong enough to roast your frogs _and_ deal you some nice damage! Red-Eyes Black Dragon, _Kokuendan!_ Darkness Dragon, _Miasmic Hellfire!_

The smaller dragon released a jet of balefire that scorched over one frog, leaving only a guttering flame on the deck to mark where it had been, and continued on to strike Regina.

**Bridget: 800**

**Regina: 3700**

As the darker dragoness arched her neck and blew out another gaseous cloud toward another frog, Regina reached to her Duel Disk. "I activate my facedown – another Draining Shield!" The familiar barrier refracted the purple fog into a cool breeze that flowed over the proctor, causing her to take a deep breath of refreshment.

**Bridget: 800**

**Regina: 7600**

"Aw crap…" Bridget muttered as her opponent's Lifepoints received a huge boost.

"That's right, girly," Regina exclaimed, her confidence once more restored. "Fighting water is futile, and so is fighting me!"

"My name ain't 'girly', it's 'Bridget', and means 'strength' and 'power', both of which I've got plenty of!" came the angry retort.

"Whatever," the proctor replied. "Can I take my turn or do you have any other useless moves you want to make?"

Growling, Bridget nodded the affirmative and Regina drew. "Hmm…I play Card of Sanctity, a Spell Card that forces both of us to draw until we have 6 cards." Both women drew 6 cards and took a minute to examine them.

_Not a bad hand…_Bridget thought. _Depending on what happens in the next few turns, I could do some serious damage with these…_

Regina rearranged her cards several times before speaking. "First, I activate Frog Resurrection, which allows me to discard 1 WATER monster from my hand to Special Summon 1 WATER monster from my Graveyard." As she discarded a card, the sea roiled and boiled before the destroyed Des Frog plopped up onto the deck beside its brothers **(5/1900/0)**, the salt water increasing its power **(1900 + 500/0 – 400)**.

"Then I activate Polymerization and fuse together my 3 Des Frogs to form one of my most powerful monsters in my Deck!" The sea behind Regina's portion of the deck began to swirl, eventually forming a white-capped maelstrom that sucked immense portions of water into its center. The three amphibians leapt one right after the other into the rough ocean and were immediately swallowed by the waves. Soon after, a large head forced its way from the water, followed by two stubby and feathered limbs. Then, in an explosion of water, a massive frog splashed from the water to land on the deck with a plank-shuddering crash. Two whisker-like projections grew just beneath its nose, and the kanji for "Ultimate" was tattooed on its right bicep. It was so large that, sitting on the deck, its head was on equal level with the airborne Darkness Dragon, who gave a low menacing growl at this new intruder **(8/2500/2000)**, the crashing waves producing seaspray that misted over it **(2500 + 500/2000 – 400)**.

"This is the most powerful of all frogs, the D.3.S. Frog," Regina said proudly, smirking as she did so. "My ultimate monster in terms of stats and the one that's going to crush you completely."

Bridget stared blankly at her for a moment. "And how exactly are you gonna do that?" she asked. "Both of my Red-Eyes have close to 4000 ATK; you're about 1000 points short."

"D.3.S. Frog's effect activates at this time," Regina said seeming to ignore Bridget's question, "granting him 500 ATK for every Treeborn Frog in my Graveyard, and I just discarded one for Frog Resurrection **(3000 + 500)**."

"It's ironic, really," Regina continued, a fiendish grin on her face. "The same card that helped your friend and you is now going to help _me_…" Bridget's eyes widened again as she considered the statement, thinking back through all the cards she had played. Only one connected her duel with Kieran's… "Wait…you don't mean…"

"I do!" Regina yelled, lifting a single card. "I activate Tribute to the Doomed, discarding once to finally destroy your Darkness Dragon! And because I discarded another Treeborn Frog, D.3.S. Frog gains another 500 ATK **(3500 + 500)**!"

"NO!" Bridget cried, throwing out a hand futilely as wet bandages erupted from the ocean and ensnared the powerful dragoness. She struggled mightily, thrashing and twisting much like her metal companion had, even managing to bite through a few cords of the saturated linen, but soon her wings could hold her up no longer and she plummeted down to the cruel waves, the bandages dragging her from sight.

"Whew," Regina said, wiping a hand across her forehead in exaggerated relief. "Got rid of that thing at last…"

**_The hellish dragon burst from the sea, her wings beating madly as she streaked towards the surprised proctor. Her eyes glowed with the flames of raw rage and her gems glowed like small stars. Barely a foot from the panicking proctor, the bandages that still restrained her snapped tight, preventing her from striking her target. Her fangs slammed together scant inches from Regina's face, which was frozen in abject horror at the apparent return of the frightening creature. Then she was yanked backwards and underwater once more, an inky blot of darkness marking the spot for an instant before it too faded from view._**

_Wha-what was that…_the proctor gasped. _I've never seen anything like that before…_Glancing at her opponent, she gasped again as she caught sight of Bridget's face. The previously emerald orbs were now a flat black similar to that of the umbral dragon that had just tried to kill her. A sneer of utter contempt rode the girl's mouth below her slightly flatter nose, the corner of her upper lip lifting to reveal a canine that was slightly sharper that normal. _Her face…what…_

"Kid…" she faltered. "Are you…"

"Hurry up with your freaking turn, so I can crush you next turn…" Bridget cut in, her eyes blazing with hate.

"Ah…D-D.3.S. Frog, attack her monster with _Ultimate Ululation_!" The tremendous amphibian opened its wide mouth and gave a croak that surpassed even the sound of Des Croaking in volume, the wave generated by this crashing over Red-Eyes Dragon and Bridget. Somehow, the water seemed to slide around her and when it had subsided, she was not wet in the slightest.

**Bridget: 400**

**Regina: 7600**

ooo

Cool as ever, Kieran was silent as those around him cried out at the sight of the brunette girl facing down a 4000 attacker with an empty field. _That was a decent move on Regina's part, _he thought. _By destroying Darkness Dragon first, she prevented it from gaining the ATK points it would have gotten if she destroyed the other dragon first, and thus kept it from being able to repel her D.3.S. Frog's attack._ Turning his attention to Bridget, he mused over what he had though her back was to him, he could see that some sort of change had taken place after the destruction of Darkness Dragon. She stood ramrod straight, every muscle tensed and her breath coming faster than before. _There's something about Bridget…_he thought, not even bothering to smile at his own joke. _I can feel her aura from here…it's intensified in power and I can't figure out why…Maybe…_Removing his glasses, he stared at her once more. This time something was different about her, or more specifically, about her immediate area, for a shadowy form hung behind her. Focusing on it, he made it out: a bony black dragon, its tail lashing behind it as its wings beat slowly up and down. _…Interesting…A Duel Spirit…_

ooo

Bridget's eyes seemed to bore into her sweating opponent as she laid two fingers on her Deck. "Draw," she intoned, and a nigh-invisible wave of energy burst from her as she did, disturbing the waters on its way toward the wooden deck Regina stood on. When it struck, the entire stern jolted and splintered, pieces of wood forced past the frightened proctor by the impact.

"I activate the Spell Card Pot of Avarice," she growled as she slotted the new card into her Disk. "This card lets me return 5 monsters from my Graveyard to my Deck, shuffle, and draw 2 cards." A twisted version of the Pot of Greed appeared, giving a demented cackle as Bridget dropped 5 cards from her Graveyard into it, causing the Disk to autoshuffle its new additions back into the Deck. The pot then disappeared in with another crazy laugh and a gust of wind that blew 2 cards from her Deck to her hand.

Staring down at the cards, Bridget's eyes softened and a small smile touched her lips. Then her head snapped upright, the smile dropping from her face, slitted ebony eyes locking with wide blue ones. "You lose…" she snarled, flipping the two cards around towards the shocked proctor, revealing them to be Mystic Plasma Zone…_and Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon!_

Regina gasped as the familiar card flashed in the light. "N-no," she stuttered. "It's impossible for you to draw that card after you just shuffled it into your Deck!"

"But I did," Bridget smirked, cocking her head. "And it's going to end this Duel right now! I activate Mystic Plasma Zone, destroying Umiiruka and replacing it with a place far more suited to the dark dragons!"

Around the two duelists, the world blurred once more…and coalesced into an empty field below black storm clouds, another swirling maelstrom ripping its way into them. Silvery-blue lightning crackled through the atmosphere, a bolt occasionally escaping the vortex to caress the ground. D.3.S. Frog appeared uneasy in its surroundings, for it hunched down ever so slightly and pulled its feelers closer to its face **(4000 – 500/1600 + 400)**.

"What did you do to it?" Regina demanded. Bridget scoffed, her jet eyes reflecting the lightning that stuck the plain behind the proctor. "I thought you would know _that_, teach…When I replaced your Umiiruka with my Mystic Plasma Zone, your monster lost its power boost. But it's not your monster you should be worries about, it's _mine_, because now all my DARK monsters now gain 500 ATK and lose 400 DEF like yours previously did." As she spoke, she slid a card into her Disk, miraculously causing a sapling to sprout from the barren earth.

"I activate the Spell Card Swing of Memories, allowing me to bring back a Normal Monster from the Graveyard, though it will be destroyed during the End Phase. I choose Red-Eyes Black Dragon!" By the time she had finished speaking, the sapling had matured into a full-grown oak with a solitary swing, the plank-and-vine affair shifting slightly in the breeze. Suddenly, it began to swing faster and faster as the wind from loud wingbeats echoed over the withered plain and the achromatic dragoness dropped from the clouds to land with a thump, crushing the grass flat beneath her weight **(7/2400/2000)**, a shriek of joy escaping her throat as she recognized her home environment **(2400 + 500/2000 – 400).**

"But, as I'm sure you can guess, she won't be staying for long, 'cause I Tribute her to Special Summon her mother: _Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon__!_" The darkness above seemed to reach down and embrace the dragon, totally enveloping her in its smoky folds. It poured into her mouth, flowed into her nostrils, and dyed her skin an even darker black. Then a bolt of lightning struck the shrouded dragon, dispersing the wispy darkness and setting the dragoness alight with heat once more (9/2400/2000). Her gems brightened as her strength increased due to her surroundings **(2400 + 500/2000 – 400)** and by her effect **(2900 + 600)**.

Regina sighed in relief at the dragon's projected stats. "Your monster is equal with mine, kid. You can't beat me this turn." Grinning devilishly, Bridget raised another card.

"We'll see about that! I activate this card: Riryoku!" Energy from the massive toad siphoned from its form **(3500/2)** as it shrunk to half its former size, and was absorbed by Darkness Dragon, the stolen force increasing her power **(3500 + 1750)**.

"Then I activate United We Stand, increasing my monster's power by 800 for every monster I control!" A phantom image of the dragoness split slightly away from her and hovered to her right, flickering in the breeze **(5250 + 800)**.

"Now, for the _coup de grace_, I activate Twin Swords of Flashing Light – Tryce, an Equip Card that requires me to discard my last card, which, incidentally, is a Dragon, meaning Darkness Dragon gains 300 more ATK. Then by decreasing my Darkness Dragon's ATK by 500, she can attack twice in the same Battle Phase!" The hellish dragon began to glow with a red aura that increased her strength **(6050 + 300)** before a green aura weakened her somewhat **(6350 – 500)**.

Regina was speechless. With just a few cards, her opponent had amassed more power than a _5-God Dragon_ into a creature that could attack twice! She was finished and she knew it, but that didn't make the thought any less impressive.

"Darkness Dragon, attack her 'ultimate monster' with _Miasmic Hellfire!_" The mighty dragoness flapped higher, then dived downwards, streaking towards the helpless D.3.S. Frog with a stream of purple gases issuing from her jaws, the hazy accelerant surrounding it and passing over it before igniting, frying it to a crisp as it seared Regina as well.

**Bridget: 400**

**Regina: 4100**

"Now finish this Darkness Dragon! _Miasmic Hellfire!_" The dragon swooped back around and bathed the proctor in dark flame that seared her lungs and nostrils and eyes with its tremendous heat.

**Bridget: 400, Winner**

**Regina: 0**

As the flames faded along with the other holograms, Regina looked up from her kneeling position at the girl that had bested her. The black fled from her eyes, leaving them their natural emerald. Her canines were back to normal, eliminating the feral look they had given her. She glared down at the proctor for a few seconds, before exclaiming "It looks like you were wrong. Youth beat Age, Fire bested Water… and Potential wins over Power…" With that, she turned away and headed for her seat.

She failed to catch the look of pure murder in Regina's eyes that struck viciously at her back. _This isn't over, kid…You may have made it to the Academy today, but you'll find keeping your place there will be anything but easy…especially if I have anything to say about it…_

-TBC-

* * *

**Whew, this was my longest chapter yet! School and other things really interferes with one's writing schedule :( Also, keep on the lookout for my name in the FFTA (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance) section! I'm planning to start a fanfic (when I get the time) about the adventures of a Morpher looking to find out the truth about his father's death. It will feature intense battles, vibrant descriptions, and amazing insight into the inner life of the Morphers! (I don't think they get enough credit; after all, they only show up in the first game and that's it. All you get is the job and its skills; no background, no bosses with the Morph skill, no secret city dedicated to their lives…)**

**Anyway, looks like it's time for the trivia section again!**

**Card of this chapter: Red-Eyes Darkness Dragon**

**(This card cannot be Normal Summoned or Set. This card cannot be Special Summoned except by Tributing 1 "Red-Eyes B. Dragon" on your side of the field. Increase the ATK of this card by 300 points for each Dragon-Type monster in your Graveyard.)**

**Facts and Questions of this chapter:**

**a.** In case you didn't notice, Kieran's last name is an anagram that combines with the first letter of his first name to form a word (Colraw = WarloC + K = WarloCK). Also, Kieran means "Dark" or "Black", so his name comes out to "Dark/Black WarloCK". Bridget's name is similar (Nogard = Dragon), but it doesn't connect with her first name, except for the fact that her name means "Strength" or "Power", making her name "Strong/Powerful Dragon". Cool, huh?

**b. **Regina's last name is Anura, which is the Genus name for frogs. By the same token, Edmund Tilper from last chapter has the same word scrambling thing going on with his name (Tilper = Reptil + E = ReptilE).

**c.** It looks like Bridget is an orphan as well! She also seems to have a brother (nasty guy, it looks like). What did he mean by the "Power vs. Potential" statement?

**d.** Who is the _he _that is mentioned alongside Yugi Motou?

**e.** It looks like Bridget has a Duel Spirit…and that Kieran can see it (without his glasses). Does Kieran have one too? Hmm…

**f.** What the heck happened to Bridget to change her like that?

**All these questions will be answered in due time, guys! See you next chapter! Happy Reading!**


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